Frequently Asked Questions - Starting Research

Yes, librarians can provide research assistance to help you get started in the right direction. Walk-ins are welcome although students are encouraged to make an appointment for in-depth research questions. You can contact a librarian via the chat button on the right side of this page, by calling 335-5206, or emailing wsh-askref@uwc.edu.

I have to find two scholarly articles. Where do I start?

The best place is to look in one of our online databases. These databases contain thousands of published articles from a variety of magazines, newspapers and journals - many of which are published for an academic or scholarly audience.

Can I access online databases from home or do I need to be on campus?

Although you need to come in to the library to access our printed collections, many electronic resources, including the library catalog, databases, and e-journals, can be accessed online most anywhere.

The UW Colleges' Libraries provide off-campus access to most of the libraries' electronic databases and online reference sources. Off-campus access to most resources is restricted to UWC students, faculty, and staff with a valid campus username and password. Unrestricted access to the online research resources is available in the library, in the campus computer labs, and offices via the campus network.

Why should I use the library's resources instead of Google?

The library's resources offer you the high quality, academic material you need for your college level work. Google may lead you to some scholarly sources, but in general you will need to pay for access to the full text articles. The UW Colleges' Libraries have paid for this access to scholarly material, so if you use the library databases you should be able to read, evaluate and synthesize high quality resources for your research assignment with no out of pocket cost.